July 10, 2012

Democratic 10th District congressional candidate Patsy Keever today sidestepped a question on whether she would endorse President Obama though she did say she would vote for him.

Patsy Keever

“I am a Democrat, and I will vote for President Obama, but I’m not willing to hand him, or any president, my vote in Congress,” she said in a statement provided by her campaign. “I will stand with the people of my district and cast votes that are best for them.”

Keever said she would attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, if invited.

The question asked of her campaign was not one about Obama’s policies, but whether she would endorse him as a candidate.

Keever’s campaign is the only one that did not answer the question with a clear yes-or-no type response.

Obama has not been popular in the 10th and 11th districts, which had more McCain voters than anywhere else in North Carolina in 2008.

Nationally, about a dozen Democrats in tight congressional races are staying away from the DNC and Obama.

Keever faces incumbent U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry in the conservative district. He has endorses Mitt Romney. His office this week said he has not decided whether he will attend the Republican National Convention in Florida.

Rogers’ campaign today said his position has not changed. He has faced pressure in recent days from Democrats who are not happy with his statement.

Here’s what the Rogers campaing said last week:

“My sole focus is on running for Congress in the 11th District. I will be concentrating my time and energy on reaching out to as many voters as possible to discuss the issues facing Western North Carolina and America. I have no plans to attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte and will not be endorsing in the 2012 presidential race.”

His campaign this week got a “Red-to-Blue” designation from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, signalling that the group believes he is a top candidate.

Mark Meadows, who will face Rogers in the fall if he wins the GOP congressional runoff in the 11th District, said he would attend part of the RNC and is endorsing Romney.

Jonathan Kappler, research director for the Raleigh-based nonpartisan North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation, said Keever’s stance on Obama is interesting given her reputation as a progressive. He said its another sign of the uphill battle she faces.

“The fact that she is not giving some full-throated endorsement of the president is a recognition, on her part, of the demographics of the district,” he said.

The Citizen-Times asked Keever whether she would endorse Obama and attend the DNC. It did not ask whether she would back his policies in Washington. The newspaper also did not ask whether she would vote for the president.

Keever’s spokesman, Bruce Mulkey, said the statement was the only one she would make when presented with follow-up questions on Tuesday.

The position could be bad for her base, said Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University.

Keever surprised some people when she won the primary with 58 percent over the more-conservative Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy. Liberal-leaning voters in the city gave her the win.

There is a difference in endorsing Obama as a candidate — which is a public suggestion that people should vote for him — and personally voting for him though not much of one, Cooper said.

“It’s an unusual position,” he said. “I think it does run the risk of upsetting her base.”

McHenry’s campaign slammed Keever for distancing herself from Obama.

The campaign said she told Mountain Xpress on April 26 “I want to be part of President Obama’s team.”

I suppose being a leader now means wanting it both ways. So let’s not take a stand on anything and be a team player only when the team is popular. If Rogers and Keever are going to not vote with the president when it counts if they are elected, why should I vote for them? They’ll vote like Repubs anyway, just like Shuler did. So I’m not supporting any one running for congress. Stop playing me.

Taxey blows with the wind…can’t trust any democrat these days nor republicannots either…WE the PEOPLE can do without them and their power mongering. It’s time to OUTLAW the 2 most evil forces that control us and abolish them due to perpetual criminalities.